The Doll House Killer
by tinkin
Summary: Beckett and Castle chase a serial killer, who leaves Dolls to memorialise his kills. That gets Captain Gates on the case, which breaks up the usual Beckett/Castle dynamic. (My first fanfic, and I somehow messed up the chapter order...any help in reformatting the chapter sequence appreciated!)
1. Chapter 1

Beckett pulled into a street crowded with blue police uniforms, the gumball on her car's roof giving her automatic right-of-way over anything beyond the police barricades. She could tell the location of the crime scene by the coroner's van parked out the front, and contemplated where to park...park beside it and save her legs the walk, or park right here and spend the extra few minutes walking alone with Castle.

"What do you think Castle? Feel like walking with me or are you in a hurry to see a dead body?"

"The dead body sounds good." He sounded distracted, so she turned to look at him, surprised and slightly annoyed at his response.

He was face down into his cell phone, tapping away frantically as his phone beeped in response. She normally didn't mind him geeking out, and took particular delight in luring him out of it if it happened when they were alone - anything involving sheer silk generally worked, and there was that one time with ice cubes... - but this was the last few minutes they had before they had to put on their single-and-professional faces, and she'd rather he spent it with her than some new app.

She hit the brakes, hard, and he jerked forward, the phone flying from his fingers and bouncing off the dash and onto the floor. She glared at him as he looked around at her sheepishly. His cell beeped loudly, frantically, and they both looked down at it...the sound dwindled away, and they looked back at each other.

"And now my Angry Birds will never be free," he said, regretfully.

_At least they were the only birds he was looking at online these days,_ she thought.

...

"I'm sorry, that's how I cope!"

She looked at him as they walked from the parked car to the crime scene. "You have to play Angry Birds? Being with me that difficult Castle?"

He looked at her, exasperated. "No! But I've never had to conceal a relationship before. I live on page 6 of the New York Times, this..." he waved his hands between them, "...is new to me."

"Trust me, it's kinda new to me too," she said.

He reached out his hand to stop her, just short of the crime scene.

"30 minutes ago, we were on my sofa enjoying the day...together. Now, we're entering a crime scene where I have to be careful about what I say, how I look at you and not able to touch you. It isn't easy."

She smiled at him. She'd always kept a solid wall up between herself and all but her closest friends...Castle's wall was made of tissue paper.

"That's the way it's been for the last four years isn't it?"

"Yes, but that's before we started sleeping together!"

"Toughen up Castle," she said, grinning. "Let's get this case out of the way and we can go home and play some games that'll give those Birds a reason to be Jealous, as well as Angry."

She turned and walked up the stairs. A heartbeat later, Castle followed, like an excited schoolboy.

...

The crime scene was the living room of a well furnished apartment. The body lie in the centre of the room, neatly posed on an expensive-looking rug and wearing an airline uniform, with an expensive hand-bag clutched under her left arm. The apartment was neat, and filled with the heavy scent of the exotic orchards sitting in expensive pots around the room.

"The victim is Alana Manning, 39, flight attendant, lives here alone." Detective Javier Esposito gave his brief summary of the victim and the crime scene. He knelt down and indicated heavy bruising on either side of her neck. "Judging by these marks, it appears Ms Manning was choked to death."

"She wasn't choked", said both Castle and Beckett together.

Esposito looked at the two of them, then at Doctor Lanie Parish, the Medical Examiner, who stood quietly watching with some amusement.

"Choking refers to death by cutting off the air supply, typically by direct force to the windpipe," Castle said. "The bruises would be on the front of the neck in that case."

"Those bruises indicate cutting off the blood supply, which technically falls under the definition of strangulation," Beckett continued. "Bruising is too wide to be a rope or belt, killer probably did it by hand."

Castle knelt down and examined the victim. "A rope or belt would also leave bruises around the front.

I'm guessing he strangled her from behind...there don't appear to be any frontal bruises consistent with the killer's thumbs."

Doctor Parish gave a little golf clap. "Good work Castle, you'll be wanting my job next."

Castle smiled at her. "What? And deprive these poor souls the undoubted pleasure of your delightful company Doctor?"

Lanie smiled back at the flirtation. She knew Beckett and Castle were together, but had always acknowledged Castle's inherent charms.

"Always the charmer Castle." She turned to Beckett. "Based on lividity and body temp, I put the time of death at about 8 hours ago, so around 10pm last night, give or take a few hours. Unless there's anything else you need, I'll be getting the body back to the morgue and see if I can give you a better window."

Beckett nodded. "Thanks Lanie. Let me know what you find."

"Will do."

As Doctor Parish moved past Beckett she threw a sideways glance at Castle. "And if you two blow it, I'm calling 'shotgun' on writer boy here," she whispered.

...

Beckett looked through the victim's hand-bag, finding nothing of substance...a bundle of keys, a small sudoku puzzle book and the usual paraphernalia. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up as the last member of her team approached.

"What have you got for me Ryan?"

Detective Kevin Ryan flicked through his notebook, highlighting key points of his findings. "According to the neighbors, Ms Manning was rarely home, kept mostly to herself when she was home, and no-one had a bad thing to say about her. Neighbors recall seeing a male visitor from time to time, but don't know any details."

Beckett nodded as she updated her murder board. "Probably a boyfriend. Pull her phone records, see if you can track him down."

"Way ahead of you. James Marsters, engineer. Uniforms are bringing him in now. Has a solid alibi for the evening though...was pulling the night shift at the factory he works at, witnesses confirm he was there from around 7 pm last night until 3 am this morning.

"Good work Ryan. We'll make this a chat rather than an interrogation then."

Castle closed the door after he and Beckett entered the small interview room, where Masters was sitting, distraught. He looked up as the door closed. Beckett held out her hand and Marsters rose to shake it.

"Mr Marsters, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, and this is Richard Castle, a consultant with the department. I'm sorry for your loss."

Masters slumped back into his seat as Beckett sat opposite him. Castle stood quietly by the door...this was an interview with a bereaved partner, not an interrogation with a suspect, and while Castle certainly had people skills, they were better off in social occasions with martinis. This required one-on-one empathy he just didn't have, and was definitely Beckett's baby.

"When was the last time you saw Alana, Mr. Marsters?" She asked.

He sighed, gathering his strength and clearly trying to focus. "Four days ago, just before she went on an international flight to Tokyo."

Castle looked at Beckett, then back to Marsters. "You hadn't seen her since she got back? She'd been back over a day."

Marsters looked up at him. "We never saw each other the day she got back. She was usually tired, and I'm always working nights. We were due to meet today, for lunch."

Beckett leaned forward. "Do you know if she was having trouble with anyone at work, or if there was someone in her building she wasn't getting along with?"

Marsters shook his head. "No, Alana got along well with everybody. She made friends easily and had a way with people. We've been together 3 years now and I can't even remember the last time we had an argument."

Beckett stood. "Thanks for coming in Mr. Marsters. If there's anything you can think of that might be of help, please give me a call. I'll get someone to drop you at home."

Marsters nodded and stood, checking his watch.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'm due at work soon. Can I get dropped off at the plant?"

"Plant!"

They both looked up at Castle, who stepped forward.

"Alana's apartment was full of plants. Healthy, exotic plants. Plants that need regular watering. Who watered the plants while she was away?"

"I did," Marsters said. "I have keys to her apartment, and she has keys to mine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys and flicked through them.

"These are for my apartment, these are for hers, this is for my car. We have matching key chains...every key she has, I have, and vice versa. We started that after she left her keys in Shanghai two years ago, makes it easier to replace them if one of us loses our keys."

Beckett looked at the keys, puzzled by something. It took her a moment and then it dawned on her.

"Your keys are identical you say?"

Marsters nodded.

Beckett stood and left the room hurriedly, only to return a moment later with Alana's hand-bag. She rummaged around inside and pulled out Alana's keys, placing them side-by-side with Marsters' set. They were identical, except for a silver key with an orange tag.

Beckett picked up the silver key. "What's this one for?"

Marsters looked clearly puzzled. "I have no idea...it wasn't there last week."

Beckett examined the orange tag closely. "It's numbered. Could be a locker key. Gym locker maybe?"

Marsters shook his head. "She didn't like gyms, couldn't see the point in paying for them when she was overseas all the time. Said she got all her exercise running after passengers all day."

Castle looked over Beckett's shoulder at the tag. "C261 - that's a big number. Would have to be a big bank of lockers, too big for most gyms. Airport or Bus terminals?"

Beckett nodded. "I'll get the unies looking into it. Can't be too many terminals with lots of lockers, using orange key tags."


	2. Chapter 2

It hadn't taken long to identify the terminal at all - Ryan had reached out to a friend working narcotics who recognised the key tag as belonging to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Beckett and Castle walked down the rows of lockers, looking for C261.

"Any crazy theories before we find it Castle?", she asked. "These are too small for your usual Ark of the Covenant, nazi gold or cold fusion reactor theories."

Castle shook his head. "I'm going to rule all of those out, along with terrorist threats to national security, secrets that aliens live amongst us and a cryptic map to stolen gems."

Beckett chuckled, they all being cases they'd actually worked on and solved together.

"No," he continued, "I'm going for a body."

They stopped in front of C261, one of the smaller lockers in the terminal. Both of them put on their scenes-of-crime gloves, and Beckett raised the keys to open it.

"I don't know Castle, sure you don't want to change your mind? It looks a little small to hold a body." She inserted the key and paused.

"No, I'm good. Maybe the locker is bigger on the inside than the outside..."

"Really? You're going with trans-dimensional physics on this one?" She turned the key and opened the door.

Inside sat a porcelain doll. Castle reached in and took it out...it was dressed as an airline flight attendant. He grinned as he showed it to Beckett.

"See...a tiny body. Totally. Called. It."

...

"The uniform on the doll is a near-perfect replica of Alana's uniform, right down to the tiny brass buttons. The doll has the same color hair and the same color eyes too."

Ryan put the doll back down on the desk, and Castle picked it up. "You said 'near-perfect'...what's different?"

Ryan pointed with his pencil. "The nameplate is blank, and they have different shoes."

Castle looked where Ryan pointed. "Interesting..."

Beckett, Esposito and Ryan looked and waited. And waited...while Castle kept on examining the doll.

Beckett coughed sharply, snapping Castle out of it. "Got something to share Castle?"

"This is pretty detailed work. If the killer made the doll as a replica of Alana, why did he get those details wrong?"

Ryan shrugged. "Who said he made it as a replica of Alana?"

"Exactly..." Castle looked up at Esposito. "Where are with the security tapes from the Terminal?"

"They're being sent over, should be here soon. Why?"

Before he could answer, the stern voice of Captain Victoria Gates, head of the precinct, cut through the room.

"Mister Castle! Don't tell me you have another doll?"

They looked around. Castle quickly put the doll down on Beckett's desk.

"Err...umm...no."

Gates leaned past him and picked it up.

"Really? And what do you call this?"

"I, err...it's not mine. It's evidence."

Gates looked at Beckett.

"Sir, this doll was found in a bus terminal locker. They clothes and general description match our vic, and she had the key in her possession. Her boyfriend doesn't know anything about the locker and claims she never had the key when he saw her last."

The phone on Esposito's desk rang, and Esposito backed away to answer it.

Gates looked carefully at the doll. She was a collector, and knew more about dolls than the other three.

"Sir?" Beckett said, "Is there anything special about the doll?"

"Not particularly. It's expensive, but not rare. It looks like a Veracci, hand-crafted in Italy. If we're lucky, it should have a unique identification number." She lifted the tiny blouse and pointed. "There...a numbered 'Hostess Holly' doll. The manufacturer might be able to tell us who bought it originally and you can track it from there."

"Thank you sir, I'll get on it right away."

Esposito put the phone down. "It'll have to wait. We have another body, same M.O."

Beckett nodded, snapping back to her brisk detective manner.

"Castle, Espo, with me. Ryan, get in touch with the doll manufacturer and see if you can find out who bought it."

Gates stepped in. "I can work the doll manufacturer Beckett. Ryan might not know the right questions to ask."

"Thank you sir, that'd be a great help." She turned to Ryan. "You stay here and work the security tapes when they arrive. I want to know who put that doll in the locker. If this is related, we might have a serial on our hands."

...

As always, Beckett did a sweep of the scene, trying to take in as much as she could before she became immersed in details. Knowing the wider picture could help her ask the right questions...it was all about the bigger story, something she'd learned from Castle.

This apartment was much smaller than the first and filled with much less expensive furnishings. Again, the victim lay in the centre of the living room, this time dressed in a Nurse's uniform. The crisp, white linen made the bruising on her neck stand out even more.

Esposito stood by waiting. He knew Beckett's drill and took the time to go over his notes.

Castle knelt and looked at the body, then stood up.

"Well, at least we know it's the same killer", he said quietly to Esposito. Before the detective could respond, Beckett approached.

"All right Espo, give me what you've got."

"Our vic is Sarah Jacklin, 29 years old, a registered nurse who moved here from Savannah, Georgia, about two weeks ago, currently unemployed. Shares the apartment with another nurse, who found the body when she came off shift an hour ago. Bruising around the neck suggests strangulation..." - he looked at Castle, who nodded in approval - "...but we'll know for sure when we get the body back to Doctor Parish.

Beckett looked at the body closely. "Anything else?"

Esposito held up a small evidence bag containing a set of keys.

"These are hers, and definitely no locker key here."

Beckett looked at him and then to Castle, who shrugged helplessly. Esposito looked at the body, then up at the two of them, and then back to the body. Beckett and Castle waited patiently.

He finally gave in. "What did I miss?"

"How do you know you missed anything?", Beckett asked.

"Because you two always look like that when Ryan or I miss something obvious. Spill."

Beckett looked at Castle. "You wanna tell him?"

"No, he works for you. Best it comes from the boss."

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, go ahead. I enjoy watching you work."

Esposito watched them for a moment then snapped.

"As much as I like the cutesy routine you two have going on here, we do have a dead body that we need to find the killer for."

They both looked at him, contritely. He was right.

"There's a key under her watch," Castle said, pointing to the watch hanging upside down on the left side of her chest.

Esposito looked down. "So? Lots of nurses keep their locker key under their watch like that."

"Except she was unemployed," said Beckett, "she wouldn't have had a key."

"And the tag is orange," Castle continued, "like the other one."

Beckett knelt down and carefully unbuckled the key.

"B240. I'm guessing we'll find another doll..."


	3. Chapter 3

Castle and the three detectives stood by the murder board, looking at the second doll which now sat on Beckett's desk. Another handmade Veracci, this one was a "Nurse Nina", and differed from the other doll in that it wore a white nurse's uniform instead of that of a flight attendant.

"Just got word from the Crime Unit," said Esposito. "No prints on either of the dolls, and the lockers are totally clean."

Beckett nodded. She'd expected as much.

"Ryan, where are we with the security tapes?"

Ryan slumped into a chair. "The tapes are a bust. Terminal Security keeps the tapes for 4 weeks, then they get recorded over. I've gone over the last 4 weeks and that locker hasn't been touched."

"So the dolls were put there over four weeks ago..." Castle said, half to himself. Beckett recognised the tone.

"You on to something Castle?"

He turned to face the others. "The first doll had Alana's uniform down to the fine details, except for the shoes and nametag...the second doll was almost identical to Sarah, except the doll had gloves and Sarah didn't. Everything was hand made, finely stitched, which suggests a very keen eye for detail. I was wondering why the killer got those very obvious details wrong."

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe he didn't have the material for the shoes, and maybe the doll already came with gloves."

"Or...", Castle continued, "maybe the killer hadn't identified the victims at the time he put the dolls in their lockers."

Beckett nodded slowly. "He dresses the dolls, puts them in the lockers, and then goes to find victims that match."

"All he'd need is a blonde, blue-eyed flight attendant for Alana," Ryan added.

"And a brunette nurse for Sarah," said Esposito.

"That's gonna make it hard to establish a motive," said Castle. "If the victims weren't especially targeted, they may as well have been random killings. We don't have a start point."

Beckett shook her head. "Not necessarily. The dolls are our common factor...we work our way from there. We need to track down those dolls, fast."

Captain Gates came out from her office, a piece of notepaper in her hand.

"I can help you there Detective. The manufacturer lists one David Pool as the buyer of both dolls, bought from the distributor about 12 months ago."

"Do we know anything about him sir?"

"44, travelling salesman, and other than a few parking tickets, no criminal record."

"Do we have an address?"

Gates waved the notepaper she held. "We do indeed detective."

"Castle, let's go."

...

Pool was a big man. About Castle's height, he had the frame of a weightlifter. Not the thirty-minutes-a-day gym hero, but the build of someone who had spent a serious amount of their adult life lifting very heavy things. Beckett certainly didn't pick him for someone who collected porcelain dolls.

He admitted them into his house without question, once Beckett flashed her badge. The house was neat and tidy, though it looked a little spartan for even Beckett's simple tastes...it must have been killing Castle, who enjoyed surrounding himself with clutter

Pool seemed quietly calm as he sat down and invited them to sit opposite him. That troubled Beckett...he was too calm. She could usually sense the panic of a guilty mind or the confusion of an innocent one, and even when she got it wrong she could usually get a read on something. Pool was totally blank, deep and calm...like his namesake.

"Mr Pool, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, this is Richard Castle, consultant. We have some questions to ask about some dolls you purchased a year ago."

Pool looked at them both and didn't respond. The silence stretched uncomfortably, and just as Beckett opened her mouth to speak again, he shrugged.

"Sure. Ask away," he said, his voice surprisingly soft for a man so large.

Beckett picked him right there for a game player. A man that size was used to dominating people around him, and while The Law gave her some authority, he was going to make her earn everything she got from him.

"We're here to discuss a pair of Veracci dolls you purchased a year ago."

Pool leaned back. "I'm sorry detective. I'd like to help, but those dolls were stolen about five months ago.

"Can you verify that?"

"Sure. I reported it to the police, there should be a report."

Pool looked at the two of them.

"What's this all about? I can't imagine they'd send a homicide detective and a famous author to talk about some stolen dolls."

"They're currently in my evidence room, both linked to a pair of murders."

Pool raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Murders?"

"Yeah, two people were killed." Beckett stood, and Castle followed her lead. "Well, we're sorry to trouble you Mr Pool, thanks for your time."

"No problem at all."

As Pool walked them back to the front door, Castle glimpsed through an open doorway into another room...the room was filled with dolls in display cases.

"Woah!", he said. "That's a lot of dolls."

Pool pushed the door further open and looked in. "My late wife's collection...she died about 6 months ago. Not my thing, but I haven't had the heart to get rid of them. You know, all that's left of her, that kind of thing."

Beckett looked around the room. Everything looked clean and dust free, and the dolls were very artistically arranged.

Beckett thanked him again for his time as Pool showed them out the door, and was about to walk back to the car when Castle suddenly stopped and turned back. Pool was just closing the door.

"Mr Pool?"

Pool stopped and opened it slightly. "Yes?"

"How did you know she was a homicide detective?"

Pool smiled. "My wife collected dolls, I collect books. The New York Times regularly has articles on you Mr Castle, and how you're following a homicide detective around."

Castle smiled back. "Always glad to meet a fan."

Pool looked at him for a moment, and his smile faded slightly.

"I never said I was a fan. Your work is trite and far-fetched. I just like collecting books."

He closed the door, leaving Beckett and Castle open-mouthed on the porch.

...

"Don't worry about it Castle," Beckett said as they left the elevator back at the 12th Precinct and walked to her desk. "I'm sure there's plenty of people who don't like your writing."

Castle clenched his fists in annoyance. "Maybe, but did he have to tell me that to my face?"

"What's the matter Castle, can't handle a little real-world honesty?"

"I write fiction for a living...does it _look_ like I want real-world _anything_?"

Beckett grinned as the two of them joined Ryan and Esposito at the murder board.

"Any luck with Pool?" asked Ryan.

"Claims the dolls were stolen about 5 months ago. Check to see if there's a robbery report on it." She sat on the edge of her desk. "Anything else turn up?"

Esposito shook his head. "Got word back from Lanie. Both strangled, evidence suggests by hand, and bruising patterns indicate the same killer. Other than that, nothing. No prints, no DNA, nada."

Captain Gates emerged from her office. "Anything of note at Pool's?"

Beckett shook her head. "No sir, nothing at all. We're checking his story that the dolls were stolen about 5 months ago, but that lead's cold for now."

"Anything else?" asked Gates.

"Nothing," said Castle, "other than a room full of dolls."

Gates face lit up. "Dolls?"

Beckett nodded.

"What kind of dolls?"

"Expensive looking ones," Castle replied. "Individually cased, display lighting, the works."

Gates looked very interested now. "Detective Beckett, I think I might need to buy into this case..."

Castle and three detectives looked up, slightly alarmed.

Beckett bit back her first response and decided on diplomacy. "Sir...no disrepect, but I think we can handle this."

"Oh, I've no doubt you can Detective. But your performance review is due, and this might be a good time for me to see how you work in the field."

Beckett nodded. "Yes sir..."

Gates turned to Castle. "And seeing how this is a performance review, I think we can dispense with your services on this one Mr Castle. I'll team up with Beckett from here."

Castle opened his mouth to speak, and it was clear from the look on his face that 'diplomacy' hadn't even entered his mind. Before he could get a word out however, Beckett cut him off.

"Sir, I appreciate the need for a one-on-one review, but I could really use Castle here helping Ryan and Espo. The killer may be a serial, and Castle's studies on serial killers give him an insight the rest of us don't have."

Gates looked at the two of them, considering it, then relented. "All right. Mr Castle, you can shadow these two back here. Beckett and I will follow up on Pool."

She turned abruptly away and headed back to her office. Beckett looked at the other three, then followed quickly after her.


	4. Chapter 4

Castle, Ryan and Esposito stood around the murder board, looking at the scarce body of evidence they had to work with. Castle looked deep in thought, his eyes flicking from piece to piece...the photos of the victims, the photos of the dolls, the photos of the lockers. He suddenly realised that the other two were looking at him.

"What?" he asked, suspiciously.

Ryan shrugged. "We're waiting for that special Castle insight that us regular detectives don't have."

"Yeah," said Esposito, "the stuff that years of police training and hands-on homicide detective work just doesn't give you."

Castle looked at them both, trying gauge how serious they were. They both had pretty straight faces...

"Oh c'mon guys! Beckett just said that so Gates wouldn't send me home!"

"I don't know Castle," said Ryan, "she looked pretty serious."

"Yeah Castle," Espo added, "we know how much Beckett admires your..." - he looked Castle up and down - "...work...".

Castle looked indignant and began spluttering a defence. He quickly regathered himself however, and stood back.

"Fine! Gates said to shadow you two, so your shadow I'll be!" He took out his notebook and pen, getting ready to take notes. "So...what does years of police training and hands-on homicide detective work suggest as our next move?"

Ryan and Esposito looked at Castle and then at each other.

"Javier? After you." said Ryan.

"Wouldn't dream of it Kevin...you got this one."

"I had the last one. Age before beauty this time."

"But I'm better looking, so back to you."

"If you're better looking, why are you still single? Yours."

"Guys!" Castle interjected. "Do you either of you have anything?"

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other, shrugged and shook their heads.

"Nothing here," said Ryan.

"I got nada," added Esposito.

"This one's all yours Castle."

Esposito nodded towards Gate's office. "Yeah. Gates is doing a performance review on Beckett...we want to see how you work without her holding your hand."

Castle glared at both of them. "Fine!"

He went back to examining the murder board.

"Let's assume he's a serial killer and has a consistent MO." The two detectives nodded.

"And we know that the dolls were put in those lockers over 4 weeks ago." They nodded again.

"Which means that if he's going to kill again, there could be other dolls in those lockers." He looked at them both. "Serial killers sometimes change the MO if they know they're being hunted, but he wouldn't have known that 4 weeks ago when he put this into operation."

Ryan looked at Esposito. "There's no way we're going to get a warrant to search all those lockers, not for a simple murder."

"Potentially hundreds of civil rights violations there, no judge is gonna sign a blanket warrant," agreed Esposito. "Homeland security might get away with it, for a potential terrorist threat, but not for this."

Castle nodded. "Then we need to find out which lockers haven't been used within the last 4 weeks."

Ryan slumped onto the desk. "C'mon Castle! Watching video footage of every locker for the last four weeks? That'll take a week or more!"

Castle shook his head. "Not necessarily. We don't need to watch them for four weeks, just until they've been opened. Once that happens, it's clearly not a locker we're after."

"That's still going to take time Castle," said Esposito, "and that's something we might not have."

Castle grinned. "Leave that to me..."

He scribbled on his notepad, then tore off the page and looked around for any uniformed police he knew.

"LT!"

The tall policeman strolled over, and Castle handed him the note.

"Could you get me these please?" he asked, "and bring them to the briefing room when you have them all?"

LT looked at the note, then up at Esposito and Ryan for some sort of confirmation. "Is he serious?"

The two detectives shrugged.

"Sure," said Esposito, "get the man what he needs."

LT shook his head as he turned away. "Okay, but if Captain Gates asks, I'll tell her you said it was okay...".

...

Beckett watched as Gates typed. "Sir? Umm...what are we doing now?"

"The key to a good investigation detective," Gates said, "is good research."

"Yes sir, I'm aware of that." Beckett replied. "What exactly are we researching?"

"There's a police report that confirms Mr Pool's story about the theft of those dolls..."

"Yes sir, 5 months ago. Pretty much rules him out."

"Perhaps. But I'm not interested in Mr Pool detective...I'm interested in those dolls.""

Gates swiveled her screen around, and Beckett moved closer to look.

"For instance," Gates continued, "Four Veracci dolls were sold on Ebay two weeks after Mr Pool reported their theft."

Beckett was impressed. "And the buyer might just be the killer." She looked closely at the details on the screen. "But the buyer's details are hidden, so we have no way of knowing who he is."

Gates smiled at Beckett. "Nothing else stands out on that screen detective?"

Beckett looked again, seeing nothing obvious or out of the ordinary. She shook her head.

"$10,000 for four Veracci dolls. That's outrageous!" Gates frowned. "Those dolls sell for about $1500 apiece, so the buyer must have really wanted them to pay that amount."

Beckett pondered that a moment. "Sir, Pool's wife was a collector. She might have known other collectors. If she has contact lists or emails, they might lead us to anyone making inquiries about those dolls."

"Good idea detective. Go brief your team, I'll call Pool to make sure he'll be home, then you and I can hit the road."

As Beckett left the office, Gates opened her desk drawer and took out her Glock 9mm. She checked the magazine and thrust it firmly into her hip holster. She may be a desk detective these days, but she'd learned her trade on the streets of New York...if she was going out, she was going out armed.

Beckett left Gates' office and stopped dead in her tracks. The normally peaceful detective office had a dozen homeless men sitting at desks, watching screens and drinking coffee.

At the murder board, Castle, Ryan and Esposito stood, Castle grinning, the two detectives looking nervous.

"What the hell is going on Espo?", she asked as she approached.

Both detectives pointed to Castle. "His idea!" They said together.

Beckett looked at Castle, perplexed. "Castle, what's going on?"

"I have these homeless guys checking out the lockers to see which one's have been used."

"Castle! You can't use homeless guys for police work!"

"Sure you can, you guys use them as informants and witnesses all the time!"

"That's different!"

Castle took her aside to the nearest homeless guy. He was holding a clip-board with a photograph of a bank of lockers and watching the terminal security footage on fast forward. As Beckett watched, someone on the video opened a locker - the homeless guy marked that locker on his photograph with a large red 'X'.

Beckett turned to Castle, stunned.

"It's like Crime Scene Bingo!" Castle gushed. "Whenever someone opens a locker, they cross it off. When they finish the photo, we give them 20 bucks and a new photo to work through. It's brilliant!"

Beckett looked helplessly to Ryan and Esposito for support. Both looked sheepish.

"He's probably saved us about a week's work already," Ryan said.

"And you did say we should follow his unusual insight to see where it would lead."

Gates emerged from her office and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the homeless guys filling the room. All three detectives silently pointed to Castle, who was still grinning. She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.

"I don't want to know. Beckett, with me." She turned and walked towards the elevator.

Beckett glared at Castle, then quickly followed Gates.

As the elevator doors closed, one of the homeless guys raised a hand.

"Hey, I got one that no-one's been to."

Castle and the two detectives moved over and looked at his photograph. Locker A144 was the only locker without a cross on it.

"Espo, is that sufficient grounds to get a warrant?" Castle asked.

"With a friendly judge, most likely."

"Let's get Markowitz on the line. He's as friendly as they come."

The three of them looked at the photo, knowing they might have made a break in the case.


	5. Chapter 5

Beckett was driving, with Gates in Castle's usual seat. It made Beckett doubly uncomfortable, knowing that Gates had the microscope on her and that Castle was elsewhere. She she was used to him being around. She didn't need him in order to be a good cop, but Castle brought out the best in her...it occurred to her then that living up to what she thought were his expectations made her go the extra mile, and his mere presence was enough to make her lift her game.

Gates sat silently, another difference from Castle, who liked to talk. Often pointlessly, but talk nonetheless. Gates must have sensed Beckett's disquiet and shifted in her seat.

"Do I make you uncomfortable Detective?"

The sudden question took Beckett by surprise.

"Err...no sir!", she replied. "I'm just used to Castle, and he makes a little more noise than you do."

"Is that why you keep him around? For the noise?"

"No sir. He brings something different to the table. He sees things that other cops don't see."

"I'm sure you could find other partners, trained partners, to give you that insight."

"I doubt that sir."

Gates turned to look at her directly.

"Beckett, you have the highest case closure rate in the city, did you know that?"

Praise like that made Beckett uncomfortable, and she shifted in her seat.

"I...had heard something along those lines sir, yes."

"Did you know that I turn down a dozen requests a month from detectives wanting to transfer into the 12th, just so they can work with you?"

That kind of praise made her _very_ uncomfortable.

"No sir, I didn't."

"And did you know you're on the "most wanted" list from FBI and other federal agencies looking to have an NYPD detective assigned to work with them on major cases?"

Beckett looked at Gates in open-mouthed astonishment. "Really?"

"Really." Gates paused, then continued. "Are you telling me that most of that is because of Castle? Because I don't believe that for a moment."

Beckett wasn't sure how to respond. She was proud of her work, but didn't want to downplay Castle's involvement in her successes over the last few years. He deserved better than that.

"No sir, but I work best as part of a team, and Castle is a key player in that team."

"So I can re-assign Ryan and Esposito?"

"NO!" she barked, then followed with something softer. "No sir. Ryan and Esposito...we're a team, and we work well together. I can't explain it any better than that."

Gates looked at her, amused.

"If I didn't know any better detective, I'd say you had feelings for Mister Castle..."

Beckett looked straight ahead as she drove, carefully choosing her words.

"Sir, we've saved each others' life so many times it'd be impossible not to feel something...gratitude at least. And Ryan and Esposito feel the say way about Castle as I do...which would be bad news for Jenny if it was more than just professional respect."

Gates continued to look at her a moment, then turned back to watch the road.

"That's Pool's place, just ahead on the left." Beckett said.

...

Castle, Ryan and Esposito followed the Terminal security guard down the row of lockers, looking for A144. The guard was huge, with a frame that reeked of steroids.

They stopped in front of A144, and the guard offered up a locker key before standing back.

Ryan took the key and fitted it into the locker door...it slid in perfectly, and Ryan turned it. The door unlocked with a loud click! He slowly opened it.

Inside were two dolls. Castle reached in and took them out.

They were clearly Veracci dolls. And both were dressed as police officers.

Castle held up the dolls and looked at the two detectives.

"Kate..."

...

When Beckett pulled into Pool's driveway it was just getting dark. She killed the engine and unbuckled her seat belt as Gates did the same and gathered up her small folder, which contained various screenshots and notes.

Beckett secured her pistol as Gates got out, then followed.

"I don't know how much you're expecting to get from Pool sir, but you'll get a chance to look at his dolls if nothing else," she said.

There was a thud on the other side of the car. Puzzled, she walked around, and saw Gates lying on the ground. She rolled her over to see what had happened.

Two small darts were imbedded in her blouse, wires trailing off into the darkness.

Her hand had made it to the hilt of her pistol when two more darts flew out of the darkness and struck her torso. She barely had time to think 'TASER' before 50,000 volts ripped through her body and she collapsed beside her Captain.


	6. Chapter 6

Castle, Ryan and Esposito stood in front of the murder board. They were all worried about Beckett and Gates - who hadn't answered their frantic calls - but at least Ryan and Esposito had the police training to keep their emotions in check.

Castle, on the other hand, was a mess. The woman he loved had gone off the grid, just as they had reason to believe the next two victims were female police officers.

He'd tried everything to contact her, and no response. For a routine inquiry like Pool, she should have been available. Worse, Gates was a stickler for checking in, so even if Beckett had a reason to go dark, Gates would have made sure someone knew where they were.

"Bro, we're gonna have to assume worst case here," said Esposito. "Gates is all about regulations, her regulations, and there's no way they'd go without contact for this long unless something had gone wrong."

Castle nodded as he looked at the murder board. The other two waited. And waited.

Finally, Ryan spoke up.

"Castle, we're both good with your standard pop-and-drops, but crazy serial killers with freaky motives...well, that's purely Beckett-and-Castle territory. If you want to take the lead on this one..."

Castle looked at the murder board and nodded, slowly. He was concerned about Beckett, and had always been able to slip behind her authority to make suggestions. Now, two of New York's finest detectives - and they _were_ two of New York's finest - were looking to him for leadership. Richard Edgar Castle and 'responsibility' weren't exactly old playmates.

But Beckett was in danger, and he knew he'd have to step up. Not for the story; not for the thrill of being right; but for Kate, and all that she meant to him.

"The only real lead we have are the dolls," he said. "Kate and the Captain both went missing after pursuing that lead, which took them to Pool."

"But they were stolen from Pool months ago," said Esposito, "and there's nothing to link him to the victims."

Castle turned to the two detectives.

"Serial killers generally have motives of their own, which the rest of us don't relate to. They're like cryptic crossword puzzles...they make no sense at all, until someone explains them to you, and then everyone gets it."

Ryan nodded. "So you think Pool is our killer?"

Castle shrugged. "I have no idea. But he's a start point, and we really need a start point right now."

The two detectives nodded.

"I'll run his phone and financials," Esposito said.

"And I'll run a detailed history on the guy," Ryan added.

Castle nodded. "Good. The clock's ticking...give me everything you've got in fifteen minutes."

...

Beckett slowly regained consciousness to find herself tied to a chair. Opposite her was Captain Gates, who looked like she was slowly coming to.

TASERs weren't designed to knock the target out, so whoever had hit them had followed up the TASER attack with something else. Judging by the sweet taste on her lips, chloroform was most likely.

As she regained her faculties, she realised something was wrong. It was dark, and there was only minimal light...but even by that she could tell she wasn't wearing what she'd worn before. Her dark pant and light blue blouse were gone, replaced by the dark blue of an NYPD police uniform.

And Captain Gates was wearing the same.

...

Castle stood at the murder board while Ryan and Esposito summed up their findings on Pool.

"I got nothing useful," said Ryan. "Travelling salesman, works for a gym supplier, selling weight-gain products. Nothing popped at all on his criminal profile."

"Same here," added Esposito. "Phone records show nothing out of the ordinary. Financials are clean too."

Castle frowned, frustrated.

"Nothing even slightly unusual at all?" he asked.

Esposito checked the pages he held. "Other than a banking glitch a few months ago, nothing. Castle, the guy is clean."

Castle turned to him. "What kind of banking glitch?"

Esposito pointed to the page in his hand. "An accounting error. $10,000 out, $10,000 in, about a minute later. Happens all the time."

Castle grabbed Gate's notes from Beckett's desk. "Would that have been 5 months ago?"

Esposito looked again at his notes, and nodded. "That's right. How'd you know?"

"Because that's when those stolen dolls sold on Ebay."

Ryan nodded slowly. "So...Pool reported the dolls missing, then a month later sold them on Ebay, to himself, to build an alibi."

Castle nodded.

"And now he's got Beckett and the Captain," added Esposito.

Castle nodded again.

"But why?" Ryan asked.

Castle shrugged. "Does it matter? He just does. And we need to get them back."

He paused, his mask slipping to show the concern her really felt.

"To get _her_ back."

...

Beckett and Gates were both awake. They'd tested the ropes binding them and found them too strong and too well tied to escape from, and had resigned themselves, for now, to waiting to see what developed.

Beckett looked at Gates, who seemed surprisingly calm. Gates must have noticed Beckett's interest.

"This isn't the first time I've been tied to a chair by a crazy killer Detective Beckett..." she said.

Beckett raised her eyebrows. She knew Gates was a detective, and knew she'd came up through internal affairs, but really had no idea of her background at all.

Gates smiled. "Do you think they'd pick just anyone to fill Roy Montgomery's shoes?"

"Sorry sir, I guess I never really thought about it."

"Maybe you should. You're too good a cop to be on the streets for the rest of your life, you really need to start thinking about the bigger picture."

Beckett smiled. "Maybe not the best time for a management recruitment speech sir."

Gates smiled and shrugged through her ropes. "Really? I'd say there's nothing quite like being trapped by a serial killer and facing imminent death to make one reconsider their career options."

"I have a good team. We fight the good fight, and that's enough."

"For now...?"

"Yes sir, for now."

There was a click, as a door was unlocked. Both tensed as they realised their captor had returned. Gates looked over at Beckett and whispered.

"We'll continue this career talk when we get out of this detective..."

Beckett stared, stunned at Gates' relative calm.


	7. Chapter 7

Esposito brought the car to a complete stop, and he, Ryan and Castle undid their seat-belts. Ryan got out, dragging out his police vest with him and buckling it on. Castle turned to do the same, but Esposito's hand on his arm stopped him.

Castle looked back...Esposito was holding out a 9mm Glock.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's my back-up piece. You might need it."

Castle looked at it for a moment, then shook his head. "Keep it."

Esposito held it up. "Bro, this guy is a killer. You need to be armed for a raid like this."

Castle shook his head. "Seriously...I won't need it."

He got out of the car and buckled on his 'Writer' vest, and Esposito followed, slipping his back-up pistol back into his ankle holster.

Once all three had their vests on, Esposito took over.

"Castle, you've had the lead until now, but this is official police business...I need you to follow along like you always do."

Castle nodded. "I understand. You're in charge here, I'm just a shadow."

"Castle, you know I'd let you lead in from here if I could, but NYPD is pretty particular about civilians leading assaults like this."

Ryan put his arm on Castle's shoulder. "You got us here Castle, let us do the rest. Beckett will know who got her out..."

Castle smiled again. "Guys, it's okay! I understand completely."

Pistols drawn, Ryan and Esposito moved out, Castle following along.

...

Beckett and Gates were dazzled as the lights came on. David Pool stood there, a rag in one hand, a bottle in the other.

"Ladies...," he said. "I think you have an appointment with destiny.

Both of the police officers looked him over. Other than the bottle and rag, he had a big revolver shoved into his belt, a .357 by the look of it.

_Overkill_, thought Beckett. _He's massive, we're totally helpless, and that's probably chloroform...why does he need a gun that big? _

Gates broke the silence. "Before you kill us Mister Pool, may I at least ask why?"

Pool looked at her a moment, then shrugged. "I always hated those dolls..."

"Why those dolls in particular?" Gates continued.

"After my wife died..."

There was a banging, as someone pounded a door. Both of them recognised Esposito's voice. "NYPD! Open up!"

Pool drew his pistol and held it up to his lips for silence.

"Not a sound ladies. I'd hate to have to shoot you both..."

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Beckett and Gates sat in silence, listening. There was a scrape of furniture. A slammed door. A crash.

Then a violent exchange of pistol shots.

Then silence.

They both sat there, wondering what had happened. Not afraid to call out, but not wanting to know if their friends and colleagues had been wounded or killed in the gun battle.

The door opened, slowly.

And Ryan and Esposito rushed in, guns and torches drawn.

Beckett and Gates let out their held breath, relieved that Pool hadn't won, as Ryan and Esposito moved quickly to untie them.

"Where's Pool?" Gates asked.

"Dead," Ryan replied, "Caught a bullet between the eyes when he wouldn't surrender".

Beckett suddenly realised that someone was missing.

"Where's Castle?!"

Esposito looked up from untying Captain Gates. "He's fine. He held back until the shooting had stopped. You know what he's like, probably looking Pool over."

Gates stood up, shaking the remaining ropes from her. "At least he has the good sense to stay out of a gunfight..."

...

Beckett's team stood outside Gates' office, filling the Captain in on the missing pieces.

"Looking at the timeline," Castle said, "Pool must have hatched his plan just after the time of his wife's death. He faked the theft of the dolls, and faked their sale, to give himself an alibi."

"He was using his job as a gym supplier to cover his steroid business, which is how he got to know the guards at the Terminal and learn about their security systems. The guy traveled interstate by bus every week." Esposito added."

"And looking at his wife's notes, the Veraccis were the last dolls she bought," Ryan continued, "which is why he was fixated on those."

"Both victims had articles about them in the New York Times, which is where he picked me," said Beckett. "And you sir, for that matter, after that piece on the 12th after you took over from Captain Montgomery."

Gates took it all in. "So Pool was just lashing out because of his wife's death?"

Castle shook his head. "That would make it nice and simple I guess."

"Oh?" asked Gates, "you have another theory Mr Castle?"

Castle nodded. "Yep. Just a craaaazy doll person"

Gates raised an eyebrow. "Really Mr Castle?"

Beckett signaled to stop him, but Castle didn't notice and kept going.

"Studies show that people who fixate on dolls tend to disassociate with the real world. They collect dolls like they want to collect people. Makes them hard to deal with, and in Pool's case he just went too far."

Ryan and Esposito backed away from Gates, who was starting to seeth with anger. Only Castle didn't see it.

"Yep, you ask me, Pool was just another crazy doll freak waiting to explode, like all the others."

Gates glared at him...then stormed into her office and slammed the door.

Beckett and Castle watched her go, then moved back to the murder board. After a moment, Beckett smiled at him.

"Thanks again Castle, that's another one I owe you," she said.

Castle smiled back. "That's okay detective, I stopped keeping score a while ago."

She leaned towards him, her lips inches from his ear. "I'll make it up to you tonight, I promise...", she whispered.

"I know," he whispered back. "You always do...in fact, after last night, I think you're a few rescues in credit."

Beckett had the good grace to blush, then turned away and headed for the elevator. Castle waited a moment then followed.


	8. Aftermath

Esposito and Ryan sat at their booth in the Old Haunt, taking their time with their drinks as they relaxed after a hard case.

"Here's to the 12th!" said Ryan, as they clinked their glasses in a toast to their success.

Esposito's phone rang and he answered it. He listened intently, and then hung up.

Ryan had been his partner too long not to see the concern on his face.

"Javier...what is it?"

Esposito looked up, worried.

"That was Lanie. She's just finished Pool's autopsy."

"So? Pretty obvious it was a bullet to the head."

"That's right. But it was a .38 calibre bullet. You and I both use 9mm, and Pool was packing a .357."

Now Ryan looked concerned. "Castle?"

Esposito shook his head. "He was unarmed."

"Are you sure?"

Esposito gave a long pause, then downed the remainder of his drink in one quick gulp. "No..."


End file.
